Crash Course

{Nine-Allie}

        When I stepped inside the coffee shop, I immediately spotted Damian sitting in a corner booth. I made my way over to him, throwing my purse in the booth before sliding in across from him. I smiled and took the coffee he slid towards me. I took a sip and smiled again. He'd ordered me a mocha.

        "Should I be worried that you already knew what to order for me?"

        He smiled and rolled his eyes.

        "I couldn't get the smell of mocha off my shirt after you spilled coffee on me. I figured that was what you ordered last time so I took the liberty of ordering it for you."

        "Well, thank you."

        We both fell silent, just drinking our coffee. Normally, I got uncomfortable when there wasn't a conversation going but with Damian, it wasn't awkward. We were fine being in each other's company. After a while, Damian asked me about my family. I told him about everyone, carefully avoiding too much talk about my dad. He didn't ask questions, which I was thankful for.

        Before I knew it, it was well past sunset and the coffee shop was closing. Damian walked me to my truck and gave me a hug before I got inside. I was about to close the door when Damian put his hand on the frame. He stepped closer and leaned down, his lips connecting with my cheek.

        "I had a good time tonight, Allie. We should do this again, sometime. Maybe you could come to The Brew on Thursday. That's when my next gig is and I'd love for you to be there."

        I nodded, not being able to form coherent sentences. Damian backed up and closed my door, moving to his motorcycle. I started my truck and pulled out of the parking lot. I drove the whole way back to the campus in a daze. When I entered my dorm, I found Bree sitting on the couch, her legs crossed and her eyebrows raised.

        "Well? Are you gonna tell me where you disappeared to hours ago? Or am I gonna have to interrogate you?"

        I sighed and fell onto the couch beside her. I thought about the night and couldn't keep the smile off my face. Bree noticed my smile and immediately perked up. She bounced up and down, squealing and demanding to know what happened.

        "Well after Logan left, Damian asked me to meet him at The Corner Brew for coffee. When I got there, he already had my favorite drink. We just sat there and talked. About our families, music, life. Anything really. I didn't even realize we were there so long. He walked me to my truck and before he left, he kissed me on the cheek and asked me to come to his gig on Thursday."

        Bree squealed and bounced up and down again, hitting my arm until it hurt.

        "Do you realize how adorable that is? And the fact that he asked you to come to his gig is a major deal. He's been playing at The Brew for years. Never once has he invited a girl to one of his gigs. Sure everyone knew about them and showed up. I went to some of them but he never actually invited me. I think someone has a thing for you!"

        Could Damian actually like me? I wasn't sure what I felt for him but I knew it wasn't purely platonic. I didn't want him to be just a friend. But was I ready for a relationship? I've been avoiding guys like the plague for six months now. But Damian made me want a relationship. One of those stupid, overly cheesy relationships where you talked all night and went on stupid mall dates and did all the really cliche things.

        "There's no way he likes me. Why would he? I'm not anything special."

        Bree glared at me. Obviously she didn't agree with the statement I'd just made.